Bittersweet
by OriginalDeadman
Summary: An ambitious pirate captain stumbles across plans to overthrow Arendelle and tries to use them as leverage. However, things don't go according to plan once he comes face to face with Queen Elsa. Two souls with a scarred past now find themselves as unlikely allies in a potential war fueled by revenge.
1. Enemy In The Enemies

A/N: So this fic will definitely be out of the norm for me. The idea came from a couple things: 1st being watching the movie with my nieces and nephew. 2nd was trying out a character based off Willow the Wisp from TNA Wrestling. So having said that, here's a couple little pointers.

1) Judging from the searching I did, no clear time frame was established for Frozen - most sources said it was either the 1780s or 1840s. Since the movie threw in a cameo from Tangled, which has a set time frame in the 1780s, I'm going off of that (plus it will help with the background of my character for this fic).

2) As stated, my character is based off of the Willow the Wisp character portrayed by Jeff Hardy in TNA Wrestling, so you'll probably see some similarities from time to time (i.e. - bizarre rants, dark persona). Gonna try my best to keep it more as my own character and not a complete ripoff of said inspiration, although I may throw in a familiar quote here and there.

Disclaimer: All Frozen characters, places, and other things not of my own creation are property of Disney.

* * *

(Weselton)

As midnight fell upon the kingdom, a guard was taking his turn roaming the estate outside of the residence of the Duke of Weselton. 'Such a boring night' the guard though as he sat down on a bench to retrieve a snack he had tucked away inside his coat pocket. As he started to unwrap the pastry, he felt a stinging sensation in his neck. Immediately, he reached for his neck and pulled away a carved wooden dart. "What the…?" the surprised guard started to say before unconsciousness took over.

"Works every time" a low voice let out as a figure in a black hooded jacket dropped down to the ground underneath a nearby tree, stashing a blowgun away. The figure then let out a low whistle, attracting four other figures from various hiding spots on the ground, who quickly congregated with him under the tree.

"Finally feels good to get out of that hiding spot, thought I was gonna die there" one of the men whispered.

"You sure you're reconnaissance is good on this place, Jameson?" another one of the men asked.

"Yes I'm sure, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered posing as a worker to get hired on to the housing staff by that old weasel" the man identified as Jameson replied.

"Settle down!" the hooded man hissed, quieting the others. "Do you have the diversion set for when you leave, Tobias?" he asked, earning a silent nod from said member of the group. "Alright, fill up what you can from the treasury. Make sure to pack the satchels as full as you can and to keep the coins from making too much noise. As soon as you're done, beat feet back to the docks and set off that diversion so that I will have enough time to search for anything of use to us, got it?"

"Aye aye, Captain" the other four men whispered. With that, each group member retrieved a grappling hook out from underneath their coats and sprinted toward the mansion.

* * *

(Inside the mansion, hallway outside Treasury)

The leader of the group peeked past a corner of the hallway, giving a good once over of the guard standing out in front of the door leading into the treasury. "Just one guard, this will be too easy" he said as he withdrew back around the corner to retrieve the blowgun and another dart from within his jacket. Peeking back around the corner, he noticed the guard look off to the side for a moment…just the moment he needed.

ZIIIIIIIIP!

"Argh" was all the guard let out before he slumped to the floor. The group of intruders hastily made their way to the downed guard.

"Check for keys" the leader hissed.

"Got them" one of the man said, retrieving a small ring of keys from his pocket.

"Good job, Francois. It should be one of the ones on the end" Jameson said.

"Alright, you know what to do from here. Make sure that Andrew stays out of trouble this time" the leader says as he prepared to depart.

"Sigh…screw up one time and no one ever lets it go" the young boy said, earning an elbow from Jameson.

"Don't forget, sir – the Duke's office is on the south side of the building" Jameson said as the leader took off down the hall away from the rest of the group.

* * *

(A few minutes later, outside the Duke's office)

The leader of the group glanced around a corner in the hallway, eying the two burly guards standing outside the door to the Duke's office._ 'Why in the world would anyone still be working at this hour?'_ he thought to himself. Turning back toward his hiding spot, he reached into his coat to pull out a pocket watch. _'Looks like I'm going to have to wait it out until the diversion is set off by the others.'_ The sound of a door opening down the hallway attracted his attention back around the corner.

"Are you sure that you can secure enough ships and troops for this task, Duke" a voice said as two men exited the room.

"I'm sure I can get some support from the King and Queen under the guise of defending our merchant vessels. Even though they're very unhappy about losing Arendelle as a trading partner, I'm sure that they won't support an all-out attack without proper justification. Which, I am sure, you will be able to procure here shortly" the elder man said.

"I've got the best forgers available working to make those documents. Once we have them ready and present them to your King and Queen, I'm sure they will be more than happy to approve the forces you need to attack Arendelle" the younger man said.

"I hope so, Hans. I've risked a lot already by granting you asylum here after you escaped the Southern Isles. I'm risking a lot more in this effort to dispose of those two brats and getting you on the throne there."

"All will work out, Duke. As soon as I'm King of Arendelle, I'll reestablish the trade routes with Weselton and you will be a hero in the eyes of your country. Then I can focus on the Southern Isles and revenge for my brothers stripping me of my birthrights."

All of a sudden, another guard rounded a corner near the Duke's office. "There's a fire on the estate out by the stables!"

"What?!" the Duke shouted out in disbelief. "Quick, get as many men together and get it put out!" he ordered as all the men present immediately took off to go deal with the fire.

"Perfect timing, men" the hooded figure said as he took off in a dead sprint toward the Duke's office, slipping inside and quietly closing the door behind him. Taking a seat at the desk, he helped himself to a generous swig of brandy from the open bottle next to him before sifting through the papers spread out before him. _'Let's see…letters between the Duke and this Hans guy…reports of Arendelle's defenses…'_ His thoughts stopped as he eyed a small map lying among the papers. Studying it for a couple of minutes, he observed the planned number of ships, positions to surround the castle upon entering the fjord, even plans to land a group of soldiers in the city on the mainland. _'My God, they're planning an all-out siege of this place. This may be the break my crew and I need…any monarch would be a fool to not to want this information and I'm sure we can command some handsome rewards for it'_ he thought. Grabbing a cylindrical canister from underneath his coat, he quickly rolled up the documents and stuffed them inside. "Looks like my work here is done…"

Suddenly, the office door opened. Startled, the hooded figure stuffed the canister back under his coat as one of the burly guards that was guarding the door earlier shuffled back in. "Can't believe he didn't think to leave one of us here sooner…" the guard mumbled as he entered the room, his thoughts broken by the sight of the hooded figure in the room. "What are you doing in here?!" the guard bellowed, slowing approaching the unwanted guest.

"Got lost looking for the washroom, my good sir" the figure sarcastically replied. "But if you don't mind, I must know where your boss gets this brandy…it's most exquisite."

"Are you mad?! You are trespassing on the Duke of Weselton's estate, you lowly worm" the guard stated as he started toward the intruder.

Figuring the guard would resort to charging first, the hooded figure rolled off to the side, causing the guard to blow past him. As the guard tried to come to a stop, the figure sprang back up and delivered a kick to the back, knocking the burly man forward. Unfortunately, the guard was able to recover quickly and immediately grabbed the intruder by the collar of his coat, throwing him against the wall. The force of the throw caused the guard to lose his footing and forced him to take a moment to regroup as the intruder clung against the wall, regaining his wits.

"Do you really think you stand a chance against me?" the guard asked as the figure straightened himself out and stepped away from the wall.

"The question you should be asking is do you think you stand a chance against me?" the figure asked as he ripped the hood of his coat back. The guard was startled by what faced him. Long strands of brown hair pulled back were mixed in with braided strands toward the front of the man's head, with one strand covered in beads off the left side of his face. The face…or what covered it…is what scared him the most. Only the pale blue eyes, mouth, chin, and braided goatee of the intruder were visible. The rest of this face was covered with a mask of black leather pieces sewn together with designed pieces of white leather stitched onto the mask.

"W-w-what are you?" the guard stuttered.

"I am a nothing more than a creature of the night that embraces the wrath of challenges" the masked man said as he threw a punch that landed flush on the chin of the stunned guard, knocking him several steps back. The guard recovered to attempt to rush him again, only to be grabbed by the head and arm and tossed to the ground by the masked man. "Challengers like you will do nothing but fall in the sorrow of silent blurs, hoping to never see my face again!" the masked man yelled as he delivered a hard kick to the ribs of the guard as he was on all fours trying to get up.

"You…" the guard coughed out "won't get away with this." The masked man grabbed his downed adversary and pulled him back up so that he was kneeling down in front of him.

"And your boss will soon see judgment day for the sins that he plans on committing" the masked man said as he reached into a coat pocket, withdrawing his hand with a set of metal knuckles on them. "We love, we hate, we die forever late…in Willow's way." With the final taunt, the masked man threw the loaded punch as hard as he could, knocking the guard out cold. Taking one final moment to relish his handy-work, the masked figure pulled the hood of his coat back over his head. Walking over to the window, he pulled the two giant panels open to glance out toward the wall surrounding the residence. The guard towers spread out along the wall all appeared to be empty. _'Must be assisting still with the fire the men started when they left for their escape route. Scaling that wall should go rather smoothly_' he thought as he climbed out of the window and began to scale the ivy-covered walls of the mansion back down the ground below.

* * *

(1 Hour later – Weselton's port)

As most of the vessels in port sat quietly and undisturbed, one ship was readying its sails in an apparent attempt to launch.

"Come on men, move your asses!" Jameson yelled as the men were scrambling to get the ship ready. _'Come on, captain…you should've been back by now. If that man doing patrol comes by one more time, I'm gonna shoot him on principle.'_ Jameson was so wrapped up in his thoughts and ordering the men around that he didn't notice the hooded figure climbing aboard the side of the ship. "Are you men…?"

"Still haven't got the ship ready to sail" the man said, placing a hand on Jameson's shoulder.

"Gah!" the startled man let out as he jumped and turned around. "Aaah…Jesus, Captain, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"Worrying I wasn't gonna make it back?"

"You came in so much later than the other men."

"Ran into a little trouble, but it was all worth it" the Captain said as pulled the canister out from beneath his coat and opened the end so he could show Jameson the papers rolled up inside.

"And that would be…?" Jameson asked.

"Our ticket to becoming free men" the Captain said with a toothy grin. "I need you to hurry up and get this ship out to sea, Jameson. I'll be plotting a course to Arendelle if I'm needed" he commanded before walking over to the door leading into his private quarters.

* * *

A/N: Ch. 1 in the books. Don't forget to review.


	2. Life After The Thaw

Disclaimer: I don't own Frozen or any characters in the story other than a few.

* * *

(Next Morning – Duke of Weselton's Mansion)

"How could all of you have been so careless?! Do you know what your incompetence has caused?!" the Duke roared as he addressed the guards gathered in his office. The three guards that had been incapacitated by the intruders the night before stood at the front of the group, hanging their heads at the Duke's tirade.

"Is this the competence that we can expect from this kingdom's men?" Hans quipped.

"Hold your tongue! You're going to need these men if you plan on overthrowing Arendelle!" the Duke rebuked the former prince. "Unless you want to go back to the Southern Isles and beg your brothers for help?"

"How dare you!" Hans yelled, getting up in the Duke's face. "After they stripped me of my birthrights as prince and sided with the snow bitch and her bratty sister?! You expect me to go crawling back to them?!"

"Enough" the burly guard that fell victim to the intruder's wrath the previous night interrupted. "Sir, we need to figure out what this guy is planning on doing with what he stole from us."

"You're right" the Duke replied, regaining his composure. "What do you remember about the man you saw in here last night?"

"He had on a black coat, wore this creepy leather mask. Very good fighter for his size…" the guard added, rubbing his still tender jaw. "Willow…he said his name was Willow during this creepy rant he had before knocking me out." Immediately, another one of the guards perked up.

"Did you say 'Willow'?" he asked.

"Yeah" the burly guard replied.

"Sir, I think I might know where to start" he said as he turned to the Duke, who nodded for him to continue. "I've heard stories from men down at the docks about this pirate guy who's apparently been doing attacks on European ships and coastal towns. The name 'Willow' has come up in those stories. This all might be connected somehow."

"Go bring some of the local dock workers and naval officers in" the Duke commanded.

"This ought to be interesting" Hans said as the guard took off to complete the Duke's task.

* * *

(Days later - Arendelle Castle)

"Anna, get back here!" Elsa yelled out as Anna took off out of the Queen's bedroom and down the hall.

"No! You want your pearls, you're gonna have to catch me first" the hyperactive redhead yelled out as sprinted down the hall, her older sister now in hot pursuit.

"Anna, now's not the time to play games! The dignitaries from Corona are going to be here any minute" the blonde pleaded to no avail.

Internally though, the queen was smiling. A lot had changed in the months since her coronation and accidental winter she unleashed on the kingdom. Elsa was beginning to grow into a respected monarch in the region, resurrecting many of the past diplomatic relationships that had grown dormant in the three years that followed the passing of her and Anna's parents. Elsa had even managed to maintain peaceful relations with the Southern Isles despite the events of her coronation. Most of that was attributed to the elder sons of the kingdom reasoning that the effects of Hans' deceit shouldn't interfere with otherwise peaceful ties. Weselton was perhaps the only kingdom that they had any problems with, mainly due to Elsa severing trading ties following the Duke's persecution of her.

Also, the relationship between the sisters had begun to repair itself also. Elsa spent a few months feeling guilty over shutting Anna out of her life so all those years following the accident as children and for almost killing Anna when she lashed out with her powers. However, Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf were finally able to convince her that no hard feelings were harbored, that Elsa was only doing what she thought was best to protect Anna and that everything worked out in the end to save the kingdom and Elsa's life. Once the initial wave of guilt passed, it was almost like the two sisters were kids again making up for lost time.

"Almost…" Elsa said as she closed the distance between her and Anna, reaching out to grab the redhead's shoulder. However, Anna made a sharp turn to head for the stairwell, giving the blonde no time to catch her balance and sent her stumbling forward.

"Gotta move faster than that!" Anna exclaiming as she slid down the bannister. as her feet hit the bottom of the stairs, however, her eyes widened as a snowball appeared mid-air in front of her. Then another, then another, then another. _'Oh, no fair!'_ she thought in her head.

"Give up yet?" Elsa asked from the top of the steps, a wicked grin plastered on her face.

"Never!" Anna said, sticking her tongue out at her sister.

"Suit yourself…" the queen trailed off. Next thing Anna knew, she was weaving between snowballs as they smashed against the floor. Each time she tried to bolt toward the main door leading out into the courtyard, a barrage of snowballs forced her to go another direction. Eventually, Anna found herself painted into a corner with dozens of snowballs over and in front of her. "Give up now?" Elsa asked, a smug grin on her face.

"Oh…alright" Anna sighed defeated, handing over the pearls to her sister.

"Good girl" Elsa said, trying to hold back a bit of laughter as she grabbed the pearls with one hand and waved the other to make all the snowballs she had produced earlier disappear.

"I've so got to get some kind of magical power to make these things fair" Anna pouted as the sisters started walking toward the main door together.

"I think you already got one with the way you run. I'm going to have to start keeping a horse in the castle to chase you down" Elsa quipped, earning a laugh from her sister.

"Just like old times" Anna mused out loud.

"I agree" Elsa replied with a hint of sadness in her voice. "I missed you so much."

"Don't start getting teary-eyed on me, Elsa" the young princess said. "I told you, that is in the past. Everything that was lost is back and stronger than before."

"I know, Anna" the queen said, pausing to give her sister a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"So how long until our guests from Corona are here?" Anna asked.

"They should be here any…"Elsa started as they opened the door out to the courtyard to see the palace guards escorting a man and woman along with a couple other people with them. "…minute."

"Rapunzel!" Anna squealed as she took off in a dead sprint toward the group.

"Princess Anna" Rapunzel smiled as Anna pulled her into a bone-crushing hug. "It's so good to see you again."

"Forgive my sister's over-zealousness" Elsa said as she joined the group. "Prince Eugene, Princess Rapunzel, it's an honor to have you visit us. It's been far too long."

"Thank you for having us. Once we found out the King and Queen had planned for representatives from Corona to come visit, we jumped at the chance to come visit" Prince Eugene

"Well I'm glad you did, we have so much catching up to do, right Anna?" Elsa said, only to notice that her sister was staring off at the gate. Turning to the gate, the queen saw what had captured her sister's short attention: the approach of Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf returning from their most recent outing. "On second thought, it looks like Anna won't be joining us until dinner" Elsa said as Anna took off in a sprint toward the trio. As she watched her sister dive into the mountain man's arms, she couldn't help but feel happy for the two. Despite their different backgrounds, they were perfect for each other. Watching the happiness though, brought up a bit of sadness in the young queen. Anna finding someone that loved her for her was a miracle in itself, especially after the incident with the former prince from the Southern Isles, Hans, who planned on using Anna as a pawn to usurp the throne of Arendelle. Elsa knew that no matter what, Kristoff would always be there for Anna, do his best to make her happy, and never use her for his own selfish desires. Knowing that struck a chord in the young queen's heart, making her wonder if such a man existed that would be like that for her.

"They look so happy together" Rapunzel said, breaking Elsa out of her thoughts.

"Yes, they are" Elsa replied.

"Any plans for a royal wedding in the near future for those two?" Eugene asked.

"Not yet, but I'll make sure that when they do make that decision that they will have the best wedding possible" the young queen said. "Well, I guess we should go get you settled into the guest room. I'm sure you both could use a little rest after your travels."

"Thank you" Rapunzel replied.

"You're most welcome. Once you're rested up, we can discuss a few matters before dinner" Elsa said.

"Ooh, ooh, can I show them to their rooms?" Olaf asked excitedly as he ran up to the trio.

"Of course, Olaf, you can help Kai and Gerda show our guests to their room" Elsa replied with a smile, bending down to give the snowman a quick hug before he took off after the others going toward the palace. The queen took one last look back toward her sister, who was stumbling into Kristoff's arms after a playful nudge from behind by Sven. Elsa gave a slight smile before a sigh brought on by the darker thoughts in her head made its way out. Slowly, she turned to head back into the palace herself, no one noticing the icy trail of footprints left in her path.

* * *

(Fjord leading into Arendelle's port)

A small dinghy with a slender mast and sail made its slow, steady approach toward the fortified entrance of Arendelle's port. Toward the rear of the boat sat a young man controlling a rudder, while another man in a black hooded coat sat with his back against the mast, a grey pigeon resting on his shoulder.

"So Captain Willow, please explain to me why it's just the two of us sailing into this port and not our entire crew on the ship?" Andrew asked as he turned the rudder slightly to make sure the dinghy continued on its path into the port.

"I'm going to tell you the same thing that I told Mr. Jameson..." Willow started, replaying the conversation he had with his first mate.

_**Flashback**_

_"Did I just hear you right?!" Jameson asked incredulously while the captain placed a bottle of rum and a small loaf of bread into a sack._

_"Yes, you did. Andrew and I are going ahead in one of the life boats. You and the rest of the crew should be fine anchored up here for a few days" Willow replied._

_"You're mad going alone to try and make this deal. We should be with you!" Jameson argued._

_"And taking all of you and the Goddess of Sorrow into port with me would be even madder" Willow replied back casually as he walked over to the bird cage hanging up in his quarters, retrieving the pigeon inside of it._

_"Sir, be reasonable..."_

_"I'm sure by now our exploits have made it to most if not all kingdoms in Europe. This isn't just a bunch of raids on colonies in Florida and the Caribbean we've been pulling off as of late. We've been going after ships in their waters, towns on their coasts. You don't think we've got a handsome price on our heads by now? Besides, how do you think the people are going to react seeing a pirate ship coming into their port?"_

_Jameson, though wavering, still tried to continue his argument. "They'll be too terrified long enough for us to get to where we need to go. Price be damned, sir. The crew won't stand for their captain going into this alone."_

_"And I won't stand for my ship or the crew to have that bounty cashed in on before I can get it removed or to share my fate if anything goes wrong" Willow replied back. "I've got all I need to leverage freedom for us with Arendelle's ruler, there's no need to drag everyone else into it. Besides, if things go wrong, I want this ship to still be able to sail the open seas with you as captain."_

_"Alright, Captain" Jameson let out, his argument finally defeated._

**Present time**

The young sailor took a moment to let the words sink in. "Guess that does make sense when you put it like that. Ship full of pirates doesn't exactly scream good intentions."

"I know it seems like there's no rhyme or reason to my madness, Andrew, but trust me on this one. Either we will make it out of this as free me or even in the worst case, the Goddess of Sorrow will sail again another day and will have a more than capable captain in Mr. Jameson" he said before giving a slight whistle, causing the pigeon that was with him to take off in flight.

"Don't say that, sir" Andrew demanded as respectfully as possible. "You are the heart and soul of that ship. You will still be captain of that ship leading it up to the pearly gates."

"If I'm still captain of that ship and it's reaching the gates of Heaven instead of Hell, then I somehow became a man that I'm no longer capable of being" Willow replied before taking another generous sip of rum. "Have a drink. Maybe it will help you come up with a less serious topic of conversation" the captain said, passing the bottle off to his young companion.

"Cheers, captain" Andrew said before taking the bottle. As he took a drink, however, his eyes widened in shock and he started choking on a mouthful of rum.

"Jesus, boy, what in the world is wrong with you wasting good rum like that?!" Willow yelled while trying to avoid being doused in an alcohol shower.

"Captain, look" Andrew managed to cough out. Willow turned around to see what the fuss was about, removing his hood to get a better view. Even the hardened pirate captain was blown away by what he witnessed. Passing through the walled entrance into Arendelle's port, he finally caught view of the castle with blue rooftops and the giant snowflake figure at the pinnacle. Scanning from there, he soaked in the image of the bridge leading from the castle gates to the city square, to the expanse of the city that sat on the base of the mountainside to the bustling port that they were entering. "It's beautiful, Captain" Andrew said once he regained his breath.

"Aye" Willow responded, pulling his hood back up to cover his head and face again. "Find us a spot in port as close to the city square as possible."

* * *

A/N: That's it for Ch. 2. Don't forget to review.


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